Immaculata, PA – The Cairn women's basketball team led by as many as 16 points in the second-half of Thursdays contest with Immaculata, but the Mighty Macs rallied late to complete the comeback and take down the Highlanders 66-63.
The Mighty Macs used a 19-2 run to close out the third quarter to take their first lead of the game at 50-49 heading into the final quarter. The Highlanders then went on a run of their own, opening the final stanza with nine-straight points to take an eight-point advantage. The Mighty Macs would not go down without a fight, erasing the deficit over the span of 3:09 to tie the game at 60-60.
Immaculata took back the lead with just over a minute left in the game with a three from Amber Ballinger to take a lead they would not give back. The Highlanders had an opportunity, with four seconds left on the clock but a turnover on the inbounds pass put the nail in the coffin and handed the Highlanders their second-straight loss.
Kendra Stum led the offensive effort for the Highlanders with 19 points, connecting on all nine of her free throw attempts.
EJ Hartzler made four threes in the game to put her in double-digits with 12 points on the evening.
The Highlanders struggled to hold on to the basketball during Thursday's game. Cairn committed 28 turnovers in the contest that led directly to 23 points for the Mighty Macs. Immaculata on the other hand turned the ball over only 14 times in the contest.
While Cairn shot nearly 10-percent better from the field – 41.5% for Cairn vs. 31.6% for Immaculata - the turnover differential led to 26 more shot attempts for the Mighty Macs (79) than the Highlanders (53).
Cairn's 28 turnovers tonight tied their season high (Penn State – Hazleton – Nov. 15, 2016).
For Immaculata Tamyra Laws and Amber Ballinger led four double-digit scorers with 21 points each, Laws grabbed 13 rebounds for the double-double. The win is the Mighty Macs second-straight and improves their record to 2-9 on the season and 2-1 in the CSAC.
The loss drops the Highlanders to 4-5 on the season and 1-3 in the CSAC. The Highlanders will next take the floor on Saturday when they host Neumann University at 1:00 p.m. in the Mason Activity Center.
